Answers To Questions You May Have About Ketamine Treatment

Certain psychological and physiological disorders respond well to ketamine treatment, and your doctor may recommend this form of therapy to offer you relief. You may be unfamiliar with ketamine treatment and how it works, and the following questions and answers can help you become more informed so that you'll have an easier time deciding if you want to try this treatment.

How does ketamine work?

Ketamine is a disassociative anesthetic that binds to brain receptors to inhibit certain sensory functions and elicit therapeutic effects. Ketamine is available in either a clear liquid or powder form.

What does ketamine treat specifically?

If anesthesia needs to be used to numb pain from surgery or an injury, ketamine may be used in conjunction to inhibit pain even more and cause short-term memory loss that may offer additional therapeutic benefits. Chronic pain can also be alleviated with ketamine. Depression is sometimes treated with ketamine, and your doctor may recommend this treatment if your depression is likely being caused by physiological processes that may inhibit your body's ability to produce a chemical known as glutamate.  

How are you given ketamine?

Ketamine can be given intravenously or in an inhalable form that's sprayed directly into the nose. Your doctor may also recommend ketamine infusion treatment, which is an IV drip therapy that administers ketamine gradually into the body and can be effective for treating conditions that haven't responded well to other treatments.

If your doctor recommends ketamine infusion, what else should you know about this treatment?

In addition to treating depression and physiological pain, ketamine infusion treatment may work well in reducing the effects of mental health conditions like bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Suicidal thoughts may also be alleviated with this treatment.

A single ketamine infusion treatment session can often be completed in under an hour, and the positive effects of the treatment may be noticeable right away. The treatment is usually administered through a vein in the arm, but a vein in the leg might also be used.

Is ketamine addictive?

When ketamine is distributed as a recreational drug, it can become addictive and produce hallucinatory effects if it's abused. However, you'll only be given safe amounts of ketamine when the treatment is used for medicinal purposes so that you won't develop a ketamine addiction. 

If pain in your body or mind can't be alleviated with conventional treatments, ketamine may be a good option to explore. Your doctor can tell you more about what to expect with ketamine treatment and answer any additional questions that you likely have about ketamine.

Contact a company like Las Vegas Ketamine for more information.